Monstruo nocturno

Forget the much vaunted Val Lewton "Cat People" as a classic horror film from the early 40s. "Night Monster" is a glittering gem of chilling beauty that supplies the juice and frission and performances that make "Cat People" look like "Ishtar." Veteran director Ford Beebe had only two weeks to whip his crew of Grade A technicians and Hollywood's greatest B actors into shape. Cult B-Actress, Fay Helm, is fantastic as the emotionally unstable Margaret Ingstom who claims she sees a hideous night monster creeping around her mansion at night. Irene Hervey is attractive and warm as the psychiatrist. Leif Ericson (former husband of tragic-prone actress Frances Farmer)is hilarious as the lecherous, over-sexed chaffeur. Bela Lugosi is here, too, but he mostly leers and raises his brows. There's plenty of mist, beautifully lit and photographed scenes of fire places and wavering shadows.The great character actress, Doris Lloyd, is wonderfully intense and lethal. She and Helm also starred together in "The Wolf Man." A great Hollywood mystery is whatever happened to Fay Helm? Not even film historians know. Although filmed on a low budget, "Night Monster" shows what can be done with great talent--before and after--the camera, in post-production and editing. H.J. Salter does the music which is mostly the much beloved excerpts from "Son of Frankenstein" in l939. This is a great movie to watch on a wintry night. Now, just to get it on DVD. Come on MCA/Universal Home Video--get with it. Put this one and "Captive Wild Woman" on the same disc and give us all a thrill!

1942's NIGHT MONSTER was a staple of Universal's SHOCK! package of classic horrors issued to television in the late 50s, showing up 6 times on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater from 1966 to 1983. This was the only Universal to grant Bela Lugosi top billing since the 1931 Dracula, with even 1932's MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE listing him below not-so-virginal ingénue Sidney Fox (a triumph for the casting couch!). For the record, other servant/butler roles Lugosi played can be found in 1933's NIGHT OF TERROR, 1939's THE GORILLA, 1944's ONE BODY TOO MANY, 1945's THE BODY SNATCHER, 1946's GENIUS AT WORK, and 1956's THE BLACK SLEEP. His Rolf has little to do, but he was still a regular participant in the studio's horrors, and always a welcome presence. 'A scream in the night through the fog on Pollard Slough,' hiding something so hideously terrifying that even the frogs stop croaking whenever its shadow passes by (if that doesn't set the proper mood, nothing will!). The opening credits are presented in front of the same forest set built for THE WOLF MAN, featuring music identical to the credits for THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. Second billed Lionel Atwill also plays a small role, but it's the one doctor he's best suited for, getting good scene stealing mileage out of his exasperated reactions to Francis Pierlot's gland obsessed fellow physician. Kudos to beloved character actor Frank Reicher, best remembered for KING KONG, whose sensitive realistic portrayal of Dr. Timmons is vastly different from the bombastic Atwill. Tending the wealthy and powerful Kurt Ingston in his time of illness, the three have left him 'a helpless cripple, a misshapen thing that must hide even from the servants in the house.' Ralph Morgan is in top form as the wheelchair bound owner of Ingston Towers, with hilarious support from Leif Erickson as the lecherous chauffeur Laurie, even daring to flirt with Doris Lloyd's icy housekeeper, whom he refers to as 'old frozen face.' Little used actress Janet Shaw enjoys one of her few major roles, as Millie Carson, the suspicious maid who abruptly quits without notice, but makes the fatal mistake of returning for her belongings after nightfall, becoming the first on screen victim of the prowling horror, to the eerie silence of the fog shrouded darkness. Director Alfred Hitchcock was preparing SHADOW OF A DOUBT at Universal that summer, and screened this picture because he wanted to cast Janet as a burned out waitress in his film ('I'd just die for a ring like that'). Hitchcock was duly impressed by what he saw in NIGHT MONSTER, and was amazed that it was shot with great style and pace in just 11 days by producer-director Ford Beebe, who had just graduated from serial work. Despite the disappointment for some Lugosi buffs, this fan has long championed its qualities to remain genuinely frightening even today, receiving its long awaited due as a Universal horror classic, a real ensemble piece where the entire cast stands out, a genuine chiller that featured prominently on Chiller Theater, perfect viewing in the dark at 2:00 in the morning.

Night Monster is the best Universal Horror film of the 30s and 40s that was NOT about one of the Major Monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf-Man or Mummy). In fact, it may just be the best one ever. I first saw it on TV in the 1960s as a pre-teen and have seen it about 10 times since, including twice in the last year. It is a very successful film in terms of using atmosphere to communicate a sense of dread. The film effectively used the themes of Insanity, Murder, Eastern Mysticism and the properties of Nature (crickets and frogs going silent for no reason) to keep the viewer unhinged throughout the whole film. The murders are creepy and mysterious. The actors are top shelf.

I remember being scared, puzzled, mystified and wondering how the murderer got around. I remember the scene where Dr. Timmons is murdered. The actor really looked frightened. The scene where Leif Erickson's strangled body is discovered in the closet was strong stuff in the early 40s.

If you haven't seen this film...SEE IT! Just remember the time in which it was made and you will have a 73 minute feast.

Tho Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill are the big name draws here, they are in fact only supporting actors within the story. But don't let that detract from this being the entertaining murder mystery spooky house picture it is. Basically we are at a house in the South in the swamp region. It is the home of Kurt Ingston, a recluse who is wheelchair bound. Here on this evening are a number of doctors invited by Ingston, who start to be killed off one by one. So who is responsible? The butler {Lugosi}, the weird housekeeper, the chauffeur, the mentally ill daughter? Or could it have something to do with the mystical Agor Singh who has been teaching Ingston the fabled art of mind over matter? Either way the mystery holds tight throughout and nothing is ever quite as it seems.

For sure it's a Universal Pictures B movie, but it's the kind of effective creeper that gets in and does its job with the minimum of fuss. High on atmosphere and containing a ream of interesting characters, it's acted professionally and finishes on a high. It may not be "And Then There Were None", and those who wish to solve the mystery before the reveal will not find it hard to do so. But this is a decent entry in a lovely sub-genre of horror, so turn off the lights and listen out for those frogs. 6.5/10

Universal made a great hit with this one due to the way the story is put together. This had to be one of the best "spooky house" films. The use of atmosphere in terms of foggy nights, shadows on the wall, creepy facial expressions (this is why "The Ring" was such a hit), creaky doors, puddles of blood, a skeleton materializing in a room, Bela Lugosi looking mysterious, frogs/crickets coming to a sudden silence, sinister residents of "The Towers" and more, make this one of the best shockers of the 1940s.

Ever spook yourself in a darkened room ? (Great fun!) Ever get spooked by inanimate objects in a room based on their shadows on the wall? (I used to have nightmares as a child (about 5 years of age) due to the wood patterns on a dresser that looked like ghoulish figures. My mother told me that I used to run high fevers as a child and this may account for it.) Not being a psychologist, I am not familiar with a lot of the theory underlying why this sort of thing happens, perhaps it is based on subliminal reactions to the unknown, but it is very simple to scare oneself by associating objects,shapes or shadows with some sort of subconscious fear. In any case, this movie does the same thing to an extent by creating an atmosphere of overwhelming dread by tuning to the subconscious anxieties (such as the proverbial "things that go bump in the night" ) which exist in all of us.

I am a great Bela Lugosi fan and even though he plays a red herring butler in this film, through the use of creepy facial expressions, he adds to the nightmare quality of this film. Some fans think he would have been better off in the Angar Singh role (as he played in another great film, "Night of Terror" 1933), but he is fine as the sinister butler this time. Lionel Atwill is also fun to watch. The ladies Fay Helm and Irene Harvey are great eye candy. In the last reel of the film, people are knocked off one by one until the film reaches a ghoulish climax (I won't give the ending away).

The film is similar to "Night of Terror" (1933) (one of my B-movie favorites) which is equally creepy and equally fun. The difference is that in "Night Monster", a supernatural element is added.

10/10.

Dan Basinger